Friedrich Nietzsche is cited as the philosopher who anticipates the philosophical themes that have dominated French theory since structuralism. Informed by developments in both contemporary French philosophy and Nietzsche scholarship, this study provides an examination of the way the French have appropriated Nietzsche in developing their own critical projects. Using Nietzsche's thought as a springboard, this study aims to makes accessible the ideas of some of the most important and difficult of contemporary French poststructuralist theorists.